Vermont Business Magazine State Auditor Doug Hoffer released a new report today highlighting potential risks to Vermont’s unique strategy to achieve universal broadband access. The Vermont Community Broadband Board is overseeing the distribution of approximately $350 million to extend high speed internet to every unserved address in the state. At the local level, ten communications union districts (CUDs), which have been formed by groups of Vermont towns, are receiving the funds and partnering with private telecommunications companies to extend fiber to residential and business addresses and to provide service. The report identifies 10 risks the VCBB needs to mitigate to increase the likelihood that every Vermonter will have access to 100/100 Mbps service. The risks range from supply chain issues, to federal spending restrictions, to contract and governance oversight concerns.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott, Senator Bernie Sanders, Senator Peter Welch, and Representative Becca Balint today announced that President Joseph Biden has declared a Major Disaster for Chittenden, Essex, Franklin, Grand Isle, Lamoille, Orange, Orleans, and Washington counties, which suffered substantial damage during the December 22-24, 2022 winter storm. A Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA) by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) identified nearly $3 million in program eligible costs incurred by public and non-profit utilities and communities in recovering from the storm, far exceeding the $1.14 million minimum Vermont must demonstrate for a disaster declaration. The eight counties included in the declaration each exceeded the $4.44 per capita county indicator needed to qualify communities and public utilities for assistance.

Public Assets Institute Refundable tax credits are an important tool for reducing child poverty and advancing racial, social, and economic justice. They get cash to families efficiently, helping them meet basic needs like food, clothing, and housing. During the pandemic, when many people were out of work, the federal government used refundable income and child tax credits as quick ways of easing families’ financial struggles. Some states, Vermont included, followed their lead by passing state-level child tax credits. Vermont’s Child Tax Credit (CTC) provides $1,000 annually per child under 6 to families with adjusted gross incomes up to $125,000. It is fully refundable—families with low or no earnings can receive its full value. Families earning between $125,000 and $175,000 receive a partial credit. In 2023, over 95 percent of Vermont kids under 6—34,000 children—will benefit from the credit, making it the most robust in the country.

Vermont Business Magazine Wink, Inc., an industry analyzer, named National Life Group #1 in indexed life sales for the past eight quarters, totaling all of 2021 and 2022. Announced in a March 7 news release, Wink states: “Items of interest in the indexed life market included National Life Group retaining their #1 ranking in indexed life sales, with a 14.7% market share.” An industry trade group, LIMRA, placed National Life as #10 for individual life insurance sales out of all reporting US life insurance companies in 2022.

Vermont Business Magazine ISO New England today filed the finalized results of 17th Forward Capacity Auction (FCA 17) with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The finalized results confirm that the annual auction, held March 6, secured commitments for 31,370 megawatts (MW) of capacity to be available in 2026/2027. Continuing a trend seen in recent auctions, new generating resources securing capacity supply obligations were non-carbon-emitting resources, including this year offshore wind, solar, and hydroelectric resources. Overall, non-carbon-emitting generators within New England, including new and existing resources, secured nearly a quarter of the auction’s total obligations. The 7,620 MW of obligations secured by these resources represents an 11% increase over the 6,844 MW of obligations secured by non-carbon-emitting resources in 2018. The finalized results confirm a clearing price of $2.590 per kilowatt-month (kW-month) in all zones and import interfaces except the New Brunswick interface, which cleared at $2.551 per kW-month. These prices rank among the lowest in auction history.